Whittemore lawyers file appeal after two-year sentence

Oct. 1, 2013

Lawyers for former lobbyist and former wealthy land developer Harvey Whittemore filed a notice of appeal Tuesday of his conviction and two-year prison sentence for making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. / Marilyn Newton/RGJ

U.S. Attorney for Nevada Daniel Bogden / RGJ file

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Lawyers for ex-lobbyist, former wealthy land developer Harvey Whittemore filed a notice of appeal Tuesday of his conviction and two-year prison sentence for making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The appeal did not contain arguments — it stated they are taking the case to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and challenge the three felony charges and the sentence ordered by U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks late Monday.

And as soon as Hicks files a final notice of conviction, David Clark, counsel for the State Bar of Nevada, said he will file a petition with the Nevada Supreme Court notifying the justices that Whittemore has committed a serious offense.

The justices will likely order a temporary suspension of Whittemore’s law license and then order the State Bar to form a disciplinary board to consider the offense and send a final recommendation back to the high court, he said. Whittemore could face a punishment that ranges from suspension to disbarment, Clark said.

A federal jury convicted Whittemore in May of using his former employees at the Wingfield Nevada Group and his family to make more than $133,400 in donations to Reid’s re-election bid in 2007. They also found him guilty on one count of causing Reid to file a false campaign contribution report.

Besides the prison term, Hicks ordered Whittemore to pay a $100,000 fine, spend two years on supervised release and perform 100 hours of community service once released. Hicks said he would allow Whittemore to wait until Jan. 31 to surrender to custody so he can wrap up his law practice. It’s unclear how the State Bar action will impact those plans.

The jury deadlocked on a fourth charge of lying to the FBI agents who were investigating the contributions. The federal prosecutors did not refile that charge.

Margaret “Margie” Kamienski, who served as juror No. 1 during the two-week trial and was the sole holdout on that count — she did not believe he lied — said Tuesday that she was disappointed Whittemore received a prison sentence instead of probation, community service and a fine.

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“I was amazed at the outrage about the crime shown by the prosecutor,” Kamienski said. “There is so much wrongdoing in politics and it seemed like they were trying to make an example of Mr. Whittemore. I just don’t think he’s wicked and evil, like he was portrayed.”

She was especially upset that Whittemore, as a convicted felon, has lost his right to vote.

“To me that’s where my outrage is — we’ve stripped an American citizen of his ability to vote because he made an illegal $133,400 contribution. That just doesn’t seem fair.”

Nevada U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden, whose office oversaw the Whittemore case, said Tuesday that he could not comment on the final outcome of the case because of the government shutdown.

“Unfortunately, due to the government shutdown, we are playing by a new set of rules and directives dictated by the laps in appropriations and the DOJ FY 2014 Contingency Plan,” Bogden said in an email response to a request for comment. “We currently are not able to conduct media contact and responses as we have traditionally done unless it falls within one of the five activities listed in the DOG FY 2014 Contingency Plan.

“Those five permissible activities are very limited and restricted,” he said.

For example, he said, his office could not release their prepared media statement with a headline that said “Former Nevada Lobbyist Sentenced to Prison for Unlawful Senate Campaign Contributions” because the release contains statements from several government officials and his office’s spokeswoman, Natalie Collins, and the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs are on furlough and can’t OK those statements.

“I’m sorry about this and any inconvenience the lapse in appropriation and government shutdown has caused,” he said.